I'm deviating from my normal format today and offering more discussion and prose than that backed by and supplemented with prediction. It's been a busy, intense weekend in sports and it's worth discussing.
Al Davis.
I'm just a random guy, a football fan blogging when he has time. I didn't know Al Davis. I don't have stories about him. I never played for, or was a fan of, the Raiders. But I do know what Al Davis was to the game. I know the history. We've all had our fun at Al Davis's expense over the last decade. He's gotten older. He's spewed vitriol publicly at former employees like Lane Kiffin. I've described things or events as "Al Davis crazy" in the past years. I've joked about how once Al Davis is gone, that'd leave Jerry Jones as the resident "borderline-senile, overly-enthusiastic, crazy old owner guy" in the NFL. Al is gone now. I think I joked because I never thought the day would come.
Jerry Jones, for all his bluster and gusto, will never measure up to Al Davis. No one will. You've heard plenty about how Al Davis was one-of-a-kind. It's not rhetoric. He was. He climbed the ladder of football, he was a coach and a commissioner, an owner and a scout. He presided over the AFL and, without him, mark my words, the NFL as we know it never happens. It was Davis who aggressively lured NFL players to AFL teams, narrowing the gap between the competing leagues and ultimately forcing the merger. But we remember Davis for not only being a driving force in that event, but for being the dissenting vote, for telling the NFL to stick it and that he'd be content turning the AFL into a superior product and grinding the NFL to dust. Al Davis had balls. He did things his way. He was the maverick of the NFL, the aged rebel, still the league's bad-boy owner to his last day. He was the Raiders. There'll never be another Al Davis. He was the last vestige of the previous era and now he's gone.
Those Eagles...
I saw this coming in Week 3. I'll be honest. I didn't say anything, but maybe I should have. I wasn't ready to blog opinions yet. But when Vick went off in his postgame presser about the refs treating him unfairly, I knew the ship was sinking. When he came out the next week after losing and gave short, nasty answers to a reporter asking a completely fair question, I knew we were sinking even faster. And now the ship is... well, some sportswriter said it was on fire and crashing into the iceberg and I think that's pretty apt. Will they recover? I say no way.
Tebow Time!
Tebow is the starter in Denver now and, quite frankly, it's the right move. Will it result in more wins? Probably not. Maybe one or two early on, but in the long run, I doubt it. Here's a prediction - Tebow looks good for two or three weeks. Maybe even great. Just like Vick in his return last season, before teams get tape on him, Tebow will make plays and maybe get some wins. But once teams have tape, expect his performance to decline. He doesn't have a complete set of tools, but he does have a lot of potential - and given how bad the Broncos are, it really is in the best interests of the team to play Tebow and see what happens. He gets an opportunity to show his stuff and prove himself to John Fox and John Elway. If he's good, he stays. If not, they move him in the offseason and push forward. It's a logical move for a bad team and I give them credit for giving up on the season this early to explore their options for next year. It's bad for short-term wins, but that's a strategy that can pay off long-term.
The ALCS.
In short, the Tigers bats are slumping when they're playing the best bullpen in baseball. Let's be honest - the Tigers can't matchup against the Rangers bullpen, not with all the injuries now. And worse yet is a stat that was said on ESPN today - Cabrera and V-Mart are 1-for-9 in the ALCS, and the Tigers have left 22 men on base. These stats mean two things to me. First, the Tigers are getting opportunities but not cashing in. This is the kind of thing that can turn fast - if they start cashing in, the Tigers roar. But this was a theme against the Yankees too - how many games did they leave runners on base in the first three innings and end up behind later as a result? It's more important against Texas - against that bullpen, if they don't make the starting pitching pay, odds are on Texas later. Game 2 was a perfect example - once Valverde/Coke/Benoit were done, we're going to Ryan Perry to hold Texas in extra innings. If you give me a Mike Adams vs. Ryan Perry inning, I take Adams every time.
Three things have to happen for the Tigers to win the ALCS now: first, Cabrera and V-Mart have to get hitting. If those guys are cold, we're done. Simple as that. Secondly, they need to cash in at least some of the time when runners are on base. In truth, those two problems are the same problem - if the first is solved, it takes care of the second, and if the second is solved, odds are the first is how it got solved. Third, the Tigers have to win every game at home. If they drop any of Games 3-5, they lose in Texas in Game 6. End of series. No kidding.
Starting pitching has been pretty good, all things considered, as good as you can ask against a team like Texas. The good relievers - Coke/Benoit/Valverde - have been solid, too. The bats just need to answer the bell.
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